Chris Brown’s former housekeeper must choose between accepting $9.5 million or returning to trial over damages after a Los Angeles judge ruled that her $12.9 million dog attack award was excessive.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Huey P. Cotton issued the conditional new trial order on September 29, 2026, days after signaling that he planned to sharply reduce Maria Avila’s award. The ruling leaves the jury’s finding against Brown intact and limits any new trial to how much Avila should receive.
Avila won the $12.9 million verdict in June after jurors heard evidence about the injuries she suffered when Brown’s Caucasian shepherd, Hades, attacked her while she was working at his Tarzana home in December 2020.
Cotton found that the evidence supported compensation for Avila’s emotional distress, scarring and continuing pain, but concluded there was insufficient evidence of the extensive permanent nerve damage underlying part of the jury’s award.
“The court finds that the jury’s award to Maria Avila is excessive,” Cotton wrote, granting a new trial on damages unless Avila agrees to the $9.5 million figure.
The procedure, known as remittitur, allows a judge who finds a jury award excessive to offer the winning party a reduced amount instead of immediately ordering another trial. Avila can accept the lower award or reject it and ask a new jury to determine her damages.
Brown had sought a broader new trial, arguing in part that jurors were improperly influenced by learning that he had a prior felony conviction stemming from his assault on Rihanna. Cotton rejected that challenge and found that Brown received a fair trial.
A separate $885,000 award to Avila’s sister, Patricia Avila, remains intact. Patricia was also working at Brown’s property when the 2020 attack occurred.
The reduction could also affect Avila’s ongoing efforts to collect from Brown. In August, Cotton allowed qualifying tour and entertainment payments owed to the singer to be redirected toward satisfying the judgment.
Avila had already begun pursuing Brown’s earnings after winning the June verdict, including money connected to his tour with Usher. The amount subject to those collection efforts would fall substantially if she accepts the $9.5 million award.
If Avila rejects the reduction, a new jury would determine her damages without reopening Brown’s liability for the attack.
Chris Brown’s former housekeeper could see more than $5 million wiped from her $12.9 million dog attack award after a Los Angeles judge signaled Thursday that he intends to sharply reduce the jury’s verdict.Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Huey P. Cotton gave little indication he would retreat from a... Read More »
A Los Angeles judge has ordered qualifying tour and entertainment payments owed to Chris Brown redirected to his former housekeeper as she seeks to collect the nearly $13 million judgment she won after being mauled by one of his dogs.Judge Huey P. Cotton on Aug. 20 granted Maria Avila an... Read More »
Ne-Yo is on the receiving end of a new personal injury lawsuit alleging that a dog belonging to the R&B singer attacked a delivery worker outside his home in the Atlanta suburbs, leaving her with injuries she claims may be permanent.The suit, filed on behalf of Dominique Bridgett, accuses the... Read More »
Chris Brown pleaded guilty to a charge of affray at a London court hearing Friday, resolving a criminal case that stemmed from a violent nightclub confrontation more than two years ago, while more serious charges against the singer were dropped as part of the plea.Brown was arrested in May 2025... Read More »
The former housekeeper who won a $13 million jury verdict against Chris Brown over a brutal dog attack says the singer has yet to pay her a dime, and she's now asking a court to let her collect from the earnings of his ongoing stadium tour with Usher.A Los Angeles-area... Read More »